About his period of work in the club from Uzhhorod Zhelko Lyubenovych said in an interview with Sport.ua.
“I consider this period to be positive,” he said. – Especially the first six months, which included the spring part of the 2023/24 season in the Premier League. It’s nice to remember how many good emotions there were in the games of this segment. But in contrast to this period, when everything was going well for us, in the second half of the year, as it seems to me, I grew more as a coach.
– How was the procedure for your dismissal?
– While in Belgrade, we discussed all the nuances of terminating the contract with the club’s management over the phone. The next day, Nikolay Ignatievich and I drove to Uzhgorod by car. At the stadium in Minae, the management was already waiting for us, with whom we completed the contract termination procedure.
– How true is the information that after the failure in the tournament for the right to continue playing in the Premier League, the president of “Mynaya” Valery Peresoliak has lost interest in football?
– I can’t say anything affirmatively about this. He attended matches of Minai, the team was paid a salary. It’s just that many people from the management of FC “Minay” left, and others did not come to replace them.
– From the summer until the end of 2024, information appeared from time to time that one or another club was interested in your services. Were these fakes or did invitations really take place?
– Unfortunately, these were fakes (he smiles). Only one “Ingulets” was really interested in my services. Everything else is hearsay.
– With what feelings do you leave the Transcarpathian club?
– Only positive ones. Be that as it may, this team was the first to give me a chance to work as a head coach. And I repeat: I will remember this period only in a positive way.
– Do you keep in touch with football players who played with your management in “Minae”?
– Yes. Many of those who left “Mynai” call me very often or write messages, supporting me in every way. And now, when the information about my resignation appeared, many people called me too. It is clear that this news did not leave any of them indifferent. I am glad that they were interested in our joint work.
– A question arises: what is next?
– The answer is simple: I will wait for new proposals.
– Is Ukraine a priority?
– First place. Always was, is and will be. When I was finishing my career as a player in Zare and submitted documents for training at the UAF Licensing Center, even then I dreamed of working as a coach in Ukraine. During the fourteen years of my work in Ukrainian football – first as a football player, and then as a scout of Zara, I have grown attached to your country with all my heart. She is like a second family to me. It was here that most of my professional career was spent, so it is not surprising that I intend to continue it there.
Earlier, we reported that the First League club Minai terminated cooperation with the head coach Željko Lyubenovych.
Source: sport.ua